Everchanging Destiny
by PerfectPhoenix
Summary: Destiny is such a funny thing. It is normally described as a fate sealed in stone, but in retrospect, it is unpredictable. For the lives of three hedgehogs and a Persian cat, things will never be the same.
1. Chapter 1

**Days at the Mansion**

**Krane Arc**

**Chapter 1**

"**The Newcomer"**

* * *

Destiny is such a loose term. Some believe their destiny is set into stone and that no matter what they do, they cannot change it. There are those who do not believe that things are decided for them and are willing to fight to the end to assure their path in life. However, not all destinies are good or are they truly a way of deciding one's future. These fates are inescapable, and no matter what you do or how hard you try, you can never change the fate of yourself. People could end up good and well-lived or become dark-hearted and evil depending on their decisions, but the only way to change it for better or worse is the influence of other life. Only through the touch of another can one's fate change, not by sheer force or intelligence, but rather the influence of those close to heart.

For the lives of three hedgehogs on one beautiful starry night in Mobius, their fates and destinies will change forever. It all starts at the Aeros Mansion, where their story begins.

* * *

Inside the Mansion, a blue hedgehog female was sweeping the floor of what seemed to be burnt ashes, humming to herself. Now, the room she was in was the foyer, where it linked to what seemed to be a kitchen and upstairs room where the separate rooms were at. A chandelier lit up the room this woman was sweeping in, giving off some good light to see the burnt ashes on the ground. Shaking her head, she sweeped it into a dustpan and looked up towards the other rooms. Her name was Dawn Raiga, and she was a blue-haired hedgehog woman with a sleeveless purple top and slim dark blue pants. On her left ear was a pink bow and on her hands were fingerless blue gloves. The mansion was eerily quiet except for what sounded like deafened punches upstairs. She heard them as she gazed upstairs, letting out a sigh as she shook her head, mumbled something to herself and resumed cleaning.

Suddenly, there was a scream outside, which broke Dawn's concentration as she immediately looked to the door, slamming it open and running outside. The scream was close enough to the Mansion as she stopped, looking around for the source. The entire estate was in a sort of small clearing of a forest as the leaves rustled with the evening breeze. Close to her, however, there was a white cat running towards the house. Another explosion occurred right next to her as this sent the cat to the ground. After the smoke cleared, she rose back up, still stumbling a bit as the cat was trying her hardest to run, but something was slowing her down. Her right leg was limping as she fell over again, screaming, "N-no, get away from me!" What she was screaming at was a human-like robot walking to her. This robot didn't have any other features but a hollow cannon on its left arm and red eyes. It was clearly going for the fallen girl as she was backing away as best as she could. Dawn was about to run forward until the doors at the Mansion slammed open as a red, burning flash of fire flew right by her and at the robot as it stopped walking and took the attack head on, dragging it back a bit until it retaliated by slamming it aside, breaking the fire up. Through the cinders, a blue hedgehog jumped back and made a battle stance, raising his fists up as they sparked and ignited. Bright orange flames showed off some natural red eyes and a fierce look of determination. The cat gasped at the new appearance as Dawn ran over to her.

"Don't worry, everything will be all right. You're safe." The blue haired girl told the victim as the other hedgehog rushed at the robot, yelling out as he swung his fists at a fast speed, punching the robot several times as the robot could take the hits and slam the fire hedgehog back. It aimed its cannon and fired off a black blast in which its opponent dodged in time.

"The hell is this thing?! How is it using dark based attacks?!" The fighting hedgehog yelled as he was dodging more attacks from the robot.

"I don't know, Scorch! Be careful!" Dawn yelled back as the cat on closer inspection was a white Persian cat. All she had on her was a purple top that reached down her hip, which was sleeveless and a red bow. She looked to the blue hedgehog with wide light blue eyes. Dawn noticed that her right ankle was swollen as she knelt down to it. "I-uh..I think I broke my ankle…." The Persian told her as Dawn clasped her hands together. She looked to the one called Scorch. "Hey, think you can handle that robot?"

"Ha, that's a stupid question. Then again, it's coming from you." He said with a tone of arrogance. He rushed in again as the robot looked to the two girls and fired off another blast right at them. For a second, Dawn glowed as a white bubble shield covered over the both of them and the blast bounced right off. The Persian gasped as the hedgehog's hands glowed a soft green. She reached down to the cat's broken ankle and emitted more energy onto the ankle. For a second, the cat felt relief from the pain as if she was…healing.

"W-who are you people?" The surprised Persian asked. The healing hedgehog let out a smile. "My name is Dawn, Dawn Raiga. You are?" Dawn asked.

"A-Apricot, my name is Apricot…" She answered.

Meanwhile, Scorch was still fighting off the robot, his fire attacks barely phasing the thing as it was handling the hedgehog's attacks just fine. He had to try a frontal attack again as the fire hedgehog burned his fists brighter and dashed right in, going at a blur as the robot didn't catch his movements. Scorch landed a solid punch against the robot's head, knocking it back. Scorch took this chance and continued on, whaling on it as fast as he could, hitting the robot harder and harder, but the robot recovered and grabbed his fist, stopping his barrage. Scorch grunted and leaned back delivering a good side kick, but it didn't hurt the robot as it jabbed the cannon to the hedgehog's face. A stronger blast came out as Scorch sprawled along the ground, getting back up quickly and ignited his fists again. This time, Scorch let out a strong stream of bright orange fire right into the enemy. The instant it made contact, the area around it exploded. As the smoke cleared, the robot still walked, it being much brighter than usual from the heat Scorch fired upon it. "Damn it, the hell is thing made of?!" Scorch yelled as he still stood his ground. The robot now focused his attention on the attacking hedgehog as it ran straight to Scorch, punching him several times and grabbing at his neck again. This time, the robot drove Scorch into the ground and proceeded to slam him again and again. Scorch blasted at the ground with his flames as he broke loose and went up close, delivering a strong punch that literally dented into the robot's chest.

Dawn looked toward the Mansion as there was a bright light shining from the rooftop. She could sense something powering up. "SCORCH! GET BACK!" A loud voice yelled as Scorch heard it, his expression looking quite angry as he leaped high into the air. The robot could also see the bright light shining from the household. Before anything could happen, a bright white beam shot out and it came fast, aimed straight at the robot as it couldn't see it in time, impacting and exploding with great force, oblinerating the robot into nothing but dust. Scorch guarded from the explosion as it sent him skidding back. Dawn let down the shielding as the dust cleared, a new hedgehog standing in the field. To Apricot, this one seemed a lot stronger. He was a dark grey hedgehog with brown highlights and fierce brown eyes. Unlike Scorch, he wore a long sleeved red shirt and brown pants. His wrists seemed to be a lot bigger though, as if he was wearing rings, but she couldn't really tell.

"Mikee, about time you showed up. I was about to finish that thing off, but you had to come ruin it." Scorch told him harshly, walking to the grey hedgehog.

"It didn't seem like it to me. You looked like you were having trouble." Mikee told him. Scorch's fists clenched at that, looking annoyed as Mikee looked to Dawn and Apricot as she finished healing her.

"Dawn, what happened and who's this?" Mikee asked, his voice sounding kinder this time as he walked to them. As she was explaining the recent events and introducing Apricot to him, Scorch scoffed and started walking off towards the Mansion. Dawn looked scornfully to Scorch as she got up. "Hey, mind helping out here? We need to take her back to the Mansion, her ankle is still broken!" She yelled.

"What are you asking me for? You got Mikee to help, geez." He told them and started leaving. Apricot looked at him too as he was walking away, looking pretty mad as Dawn helped the Persian up. The group all headed inside, regrouping in the lobby as Dawn wrapped bandages around the injured cat's ankle. Mikee stood from them as he looked to them.

"Well, Apricot, can you explain to me what happened back there? Why was there some kind of robot after you?" He asked. Apricot looked tired and worn out, slightly injured here and there as she looked nervous about the question. Dawn looked to her questionably. "Um…well…I'm…traveling around…and then that thing attacked me out of nowhere. I…don't know anything else." She told him, looking to the tile ground.

"Well, you're probably tired from all that then. You can't move around too much with that ankle, but you should be okay tomorrow. Why don't you rest here for tonight?" Dawn suggested as Apricot looked to her, the cat's white tail reacting to her surprise.

"I…I don't know…I can't stay here." She said until Mikee smiled a bit.

"You can't walk far with that ankle anyway. Besides, it's just for a night." He reminded her as Apricot didn't look too happy with this. She didn't have any other option, and it was the dead of night. There wasn't much left to go to. She nodded after a moment of silence, Mikee and Dawn nodded to each other.

"All right, good. Don't worry about paying back or anything, if you're worried about that. After what you went through, it's crazy to think about it. Dawn, can you lead her to a guest room in the second floor? Make sure it's away from Scorch's room, just in case he tries something." Mikee told Dawn. She nodded as she pushed back her blue hair. She had Apricot around her shoulder as Mikee helped too, all three of them going up a flight of stairs. As they went up, they noticed Scorch was in his room, the door slamming shut.

"What's with that guy? He's so rude." Apricot asked, cringing a bit as she leaned a bit on her ankle.

"That's Scorch, he's a fighter from local tournaments. He was reigning champion for a few years until Mikee here brought him down from his stand a year ago. Since then, he's been bugging Mikee for fights to 'see who's the stronger one.' It gets kind of annoying." Dawn complained a bit, sighing as they got up to the floor. Inside the room, there were just different doors leading to rooms as they led Apricot to one of the doors. Dawn opened it as it was a simple room with a nice bed, wooden dressers, and a bathroom. It looked really nice for a guest room as Apricot made her way to the bed.

"So…good night, and rest easy. You're safe here, very safe. No crazy robots can get in here easily, not while we're around." Mikee told Apricot with confidence as he left, Dawn quickly following him as they softly closed the door behind them. Apricot went to sit down on the bed, finally taking a bit of a break as the bed was very comfortable. _They seem really nice to let me stay here for the night. _Apricot thought to herself as she lifted up the covers.

_You know, we can't stay here. We have to leave first thing in the morning._ A voice told Apricot in her head as she looked to the mirror on top of the dresser. In her reflection, there she was, but Apricot was…different. In the mirror, her eyes were red instead of blue and her facial expressions were different from Apricot. She got up and looked to the mirror. "I-I know that." She told the reflection as it nodded. The copy of Apricot walked around the room, looking at the doorway, as if she was looking at something. _We can't let him find these people._ She finished saying as Apricot finally decided to lie in bed.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mikee and Dawn were downstairs, sitting on the couch. The male hedgehog sighed as he sunk further into his seat, looking tired. Dawn looked to him, sighing herself. "Long day, huh? How's the project coming along?" Dawn asked, moving closer to him.

"Well, it's coming along. Wish I was more of a mechanic than a fighter. I'd have this done a long time ago. It isn't easy messing around with power cores either. Not to mention Scorch, we're fighting again in the morning." He told her, which got a scoff from her.

"Ugh, again? Didn't you guys just fight in the afternoon? Geez, he's really determined to beat you, huh?" Dawn asked, leaning on his shoulder. He nodded as Mikee looked upstairs, staring towards Scorch's room at the mention of the Fire user. "I've been tired too, making sure the house is clean since Scorch keeps burning everything. Our supplies are starting to run a bit low too. I might need to go to the store soon." She told him, closing her eyes and resting on his shoulder. He laughed a little as his hand went past her blue hair.

"Ugh, get a room you two, it's disgusting." Scorch told them as he was walking down the stairs, interrupting their time as both hedgehogs looked to the fire user. He wasn't looking at them as Scorch made his way for the kitchen. "Well, you wouldn't know, Scorch. You need to get yourself a girlfriend one of these days. It'll help out that attitude of yours." He commented.

"You need to remember that you have a girlfriend. She's always trying to flirt with you and wears tight clothes, it makes me sick." Scorch said as he walked on upstairs, taking a water bottle. Dawn flinched a bit at the mention, turning a bit red as Scorch went back to his room, the door slamming again. _Pfft, my clothes aren't tight…_ She thought as she got up, the mood ruined as Mikee did too. He stretched a bit as Dawn went upstairs to their own room. Suddenly, there was something…dark she felt coming from Apricot's room as she sensed it quickly before it faded. It got her attention as she stopped. Mikee stopped as he looked to Dawn's concerned eyes. "Hm? What's wrong?" He asked her, which snapped her out of concentration.

"Did you…sense something just now?" She asked him. Mikee shook his head as Dawn looked to Apricot's door again. It wouldn't bother her as much, but what she sensed just now…it was really dark and wrong. She couldn't describe it much since it vanished the instant it appeared. "Come on, you must really be tired if you're sensing things. Let's go to bed." Mikee told her, holding her shoulder. Dawn agreed to the suggestion, a warm bed sounding really good at the moment.

The next morning finally came for Apricot, but she woke up to the sounds of yelling right outside her room as she groaned herself awake. "Get up you asshole! Our battle starts!" She heard Scorch yell from inside her own room.

"Aah! Scorch! Get the hell OUT!" Dawn screamed as there was a small explosion and something hitting the floor. She heard Scorch yell out as there was the sound of running.

"Scorch, if you really wanted to fight, you could have at least waited until we got dressed, sheesh." She heard Mikee tell him. Apricot got up as she remembered at the moment that she had to go, but if they were going to fight, then she might as well watch. As she slowly opened the door, Mikee was putting on his red long-sleeve shirt, but at the moment, she noticed that he was in fact, wearing black rings on his wrists. The two boys didn't seem to notice her as they went downstairs. There was a mumbling heard from inside Mikee's room as Apricot heard Dawn muttering to herself. "Dawn? What's going on?" She asked her.

"Mikee and Scorch are having another one of their fights. Ugh, I don't know why it has to be so early in the morning. It's not even seven yet." Dawn yawned, shaking her head as she put on her pink bow on her left ear. Both girls ran downstairs to see the two male hedgehogs outside in the front of the house, both of them looking at each other.

* * *

**Yes, new story that I will be working on, I apologize for me being absent all this time. This will be my new primary story. For those who've read Rise of the Horde, you might recognize two of the characters. ^^**

**Anyway, sorry for being gone so long, but I'm back! ^^**

**~PerfectPhoenix/PerfectPhoenixLPs**


	2. Mikee VS Scorch: A Heated Rivalry

**Everchanging Destiny**

**Chapter 2**

**Mikee VS Scorch: A Heated Rivalry**

* * *

Both hedgehogs stood against each other, looking right at each other. Scorch had a strong front-standing stance as Mikee stood there, looking right at Scorch. Dawn and Apricot were both watching the two of them, the Persian looking a little excited to see this fight. Scorch put up a fight last night against the robot that attacked her, but Mikee was the one who ultimately finished it off and beat it with a single attack.

"You watch yourself, Mikee. I'm prepared to bring you down this time!" Scorch declared, sparking his fists to be engulfed in flames. Mikee smirked at his declaration as he finally made a battle stance, his hands formed as palms. He seemed really confident against Scorch as he beckoned to Scorch for him to make the first move.

"Tch, fine, I'll start us off!" Scorch yelled as he made a power-up stance, both his fists still burning as he began yelling out, which surprised Mikee as the fire user's body began to shimmer until his entire body was engulfed in red flames. Scorch didn't seem to be affected by the flames he created as it seemed to be a sort of cloak all around his body. Dawn looked surprised too at Scorch's move.

"Whoa, that's new from Scorch. Usually he attacks head-on, but this is different." Dawn said out loud, mainly to tell Apricot. She was just paying attention as Scorch lifted off the ground and rushed at Mike this time, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. Mikee guarded swiftly at all of Scorch's punches, but they were still doing damage as his entire body was hot. It started to burn his arms as Mikee countered his punch and hit Scorch's chest, but the fire was hot as his punch barely connected. Scorch returned the attack by slamming Mikee back. Both hedgehogs entered a fast close-combat with each other, but in the end, Mikee was receiving the most damage due to the flames as he backed off of Scorch.

"Not bad, Scorch, not bad at all. Cloaking yourself in a constant fire makes my physical attacks have a backlash. You're getting better, I'll give you that much." Mikee told Scorch as he looked to his condition. Scorch was starting to get a bit tired as the hedgehog was breathing hard. His fire was also beginning to fade slightly as he took notice of that as well. "But, I wonder how long you can keep your fire cloak going. You're not exactly a special fighter, but more physical. Once that cloak wears off, you're done." Mikee told him, looking at Scorch as he looked angry at this remark.

"Ha, we'll see about that!" The arrogant hedgehog yelled as he rushed at Mikee again, swinging his fists at Mikee, who he couldn't make contact with. Every time he swung, he'd move so fast at blurring speeds. Apricot seemed impressed at Mikee's speed when he was dodging the attacks, as Scorch was beginning to slow down, the fire cloak plan he had starting to seem like a bad idea. Soon enough, after one more close swing, the fire was cut off and Scorch stood there, breathing hard from exhaustion as steam hissed from his fur. Mikee stood a considerable distance away from the worn out fighter, looking as if he didn't even take a single hit despite the numerous burn marks from before.

"You've lasted longer than I thought using your fire cloak. I'm surprised, Scorch, but it still won't be enough to defeat me." Mikee told him as Scorch growled in anger. His red eyes glared at brown as Scorch's fists sparked again, burning brightly as he rushed straight at Mikee again, still raring to go despite the exhausted reserves.

There was a quick movement and a heavy impact as Scorch was stopped cold, his body in the air a few inches as his eyes were wide and he coughed out slight blood. Apricot had to blink to see again as Mikee was in front of Scorch, his right fist landing in Scorch's stomach as the Fire Hedgehog stumbled back, holding his gut, groaning in pain as he fell down to his knees. Dawn shook her head as Apricot, on instinct, ran over to Scorch. "This battle is over." Mikee told him coldly as he walked past Apricot and into the Mansion. Dawn looked to them as she went inside as well. The Persian cat knelt down to the defeated hedgehog as he didn't acknowledge her presence. "Hey, you did great! I guess you were just out of your league with him." Apricot told him as Scorch got up to one foot. He turned his head quickly to face her and he looked scary for a second. "Shut up! Ugh…I don't need your help! I…just need to get stronger!" Scorch yelled to her as he rose to his feet, "One day, I'll beat him…I just need to make my fire attack last longer."

Apricot scoffed as she looked to him, standing up. "You think that would work? Look, you put too much into your strength, but Mikee puts more into not only his strength, but his speed too." She explained as Scorch shrugged off, leaving away from the Mansion as Apricot put a hand to her hip. A sigh escaped from her lips as she walked back to the Mansion. Now that was all done and over with, she could leave and not bring these people trouble, as she thought. She opened the door and saw Mikee sitting with Dawn as she was healing his burned arms. "You need to stop being so reckless. Scorch might have hurt you back there." Dawn warned him as she held his arm. Mikee scoffed a bit as he cracked his knuckles with loud sounding cracks. "Please, he can't beat me with that attitude. If he keeps thinking he alone can get stronger, he has another thing coming." Mikee told her as he had a smirk. Dawn sighed, but she smiled too. They seemed so cute together as Apricot cleared her throat to make them aware of her presence.

"Oh, Apricot, did you need something?" Dawn asked as she finished healing Mikee. The Persian cat rubbed the back of her head, past her ears. It was hard to tell people like these two, but she had to leave. If 'he' found her with them…no. She shook her head as she answered Dawn's question after a moment of silence. "Um…well…I want to say thank you for letting me sleep here, but I have to get moving…" Apricot answered, her tail swaying a bit nervously.

"Oh, but I was about to make breakfast. You sure you want to leave on an empty stomach?" Dawn asked. Apricot wanted to get out, the sooner the better, but at the moment, breakfast sounded like a good idea. "All right, all right…I'll stay for breakfast, but I have to go after that…" Apricot told them. Mikee raised an eyebrow in suspicion for a moment as he nodded, getting up. "I'll be back. Got some work to do." He told the two women as he headed back upstairs.

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Scorch was sitting on a Cliffside, looking down at the forest below him. He was still furious at his most recent loss against Mikee, his gut still in pain from that attack. _Damn him, I had him. My plan was perfect, and yet he surpassed me yet again._ Scorch thought as he held his hand to his face. His palm turned into a fist as he gritted his teeth and stood up, feeling the warm sun on him. It always helped him try to relax, but now he was more determined than ever. He remembered that day when Mikee defeated him. It was a year or two back then, at Casino Zone Stadium where he was competing for who knew how long. It was the finals of the fighting tournament, and it was where he first met Mikee.

* * *

"Let the finals of the Casino Zone Finals begin! Each fighter will proceed to fight each other until the other is unconscious. We have Scorch, the Fire Champion for five years in a row! This hedgehog has been winning the local tournaments and now he aims to take another championship under his belt, or whatever he uses." The announcer declared as Scorch walked into the battlefield, still looking stern, yet confident. The other side opened up as Mikee walked into the stadium, hearing a lot of cheers, especially from Dawn, who was at the closest seat possible. "And here is our surprise newcomer, who for his first time in the tournament flattened every fighter who opposed him, it's Mikee Aeros!" The announcer declared as Scorch made a battle stance, looking ready to face this newcomer. He didn't feel threatening at all as the both of them made their way to the center of the battlefield.

"Remember, no killing, only make your opponent unconscious! Same rules apply as always. The audience is protected by a force field, so all long ranged attacks are usable, and air battles are allowed as well. Now, without further delay, let the Championship Finals, commence!" The announcer yelled.

"Let's go, you don't stand a chance against me!" Scorch yelled as he rushed right in right at Mikee, swinging his fist as Mikee guarded quickly. He retaliated by grabbing said fist and throwing Scorch over his shoulder with ease as Scorch was surprised at this, landing on his feet as Mikee rushed at him, bringing the attack straight to Scorch as he entered fierce close-combat. Scorch put up a guard to block his punches, but it couldn't help much as Mikee vanished instantly and appeared behind Scorch, landing a perfect double kick onto Scorch's back. This sent the hedgehog right into the wall as it cracked underneath the pressure. He yelled out from this as Scorch stood back up, freeing himself from the wall as Mikee stood his ground, ready for anything Scorch was going to throw at him.

"Tch, that one hurt! You'll pay for that!" Scorch yelled as he aimed a palm forward. It glowed red as fire engulfed into a condensed fireball from his palm. "Searing Flame!" Scorch yelled as the fireball increased in size instantly and lashed out as a powerful stream of fire. Mikee jumped out of the way as the fire followed right after him. Mikee noticed this as his palms shone in a white light. He jumped up and aimed his palms to the ground as he fired off a white blast, rocketing him straight up as the stream of fire couldn't keep up. Scorch looked up as Mikee held back his palms and started firing a barrage of shining blasts. Scorch cut off the fire attack and nimbly jumped out of the way. He didn't see that Mikee stopped and lunged down to slam him hard across the face with a fist that knocked Scorch back hard. As the Fire Hedgehog stumbled back, Mikee rushed in and delivered a powerful barrage of punches and finished it up with a clean uppercut onto the fire hedgehog's chin, knocking him into the air and landing on his back. Mikee took this chance as he leaped up in the air, slamming both his arms to one side of his body as he started charging Light energy in between both his palms.

"Shine Beam!" Mikee yelled out as he slammed them forward, firing off his attack at Scorch, which hit its target as an explosion took place, sending Scorch flying and slamming into the wall. The Fire Hedgehog was knocked clean out at that point, and when he woke up, Mikee was the Champion fighter.

* * *

Scorch's fists engulfed themselves in flames as his fire burned brightly, showing off his inner anger and hatred as his fire burned red for a split second. "Damn it, Mikee! I will defeat you! I don't care if I exhaust all my energy in my soul, I will defeat you!" Scorch yelled out loud.

Meanwhile, back at the Mansion, Apricot and the others finished breakfast, the Persian stood near the doorway, Mikee and Dawn looking to her, saying their short farewells. "W-well, I guess I'll be heading out then? Thank you for everything." Apricot thanked them, which brought a smile to their faces.

"You have a safe journey, all right?" Dawn asked.

"Make sure you don't get attacked by any more crazy robots, and remember, if you're in the neighborhood and need a place to stay, you're always welcome here." Mikee told her reassuringly. This put a smile to Apricot's face as she nodded, turned around and opened the door to leave. As the doors closed, Dawn sighed. "Well, guess it wasn't meant to happen. She couldn't stay after all." She told Mikee, her head lying against his shoulder.

"She's a traveler, they go everywhere. You know that. We were like that for a time, remember?" He reminded her. She still didn't look too happy as they were walking back to the kitchen. Before they could even set foot on the tile, they both heard a piercing scream. On pure instinct, both of them dashed out of the house to see Apricot backing up from another robot. This one, however was a different and sleeker type and held two long swords in its hands. Its target was obviously the female Persian as she was still backing up. "Apricot!" Dawn cried out as the robot held a sword up high and swung down only to come into contact with Mikee's fist as he defended Apricot, his fist covered in white energy. "Dawn, move Apricot! Hurry!" The Light warrior yelled as the robot swung its other sword. Mikee grabbed onto that on as well, feeling the overwhelming strength of the robot. This one was much stronger than before, that was for sure. Apricot saw Dawn run to her as Mikee shoved the robot off balance. He followed it up with a quick white blast, knocking the robot back far enough to fight head on. His glance went back to the two girls, making sure they're not in the way. He didn't see the robot rush straight at him and slam him hard with the blunt edge of the sword with enough force to send him skidding back hard and off his feet. The hedgehog fighter fired another blast at the ground to rocket skyward, but the robot jumped up with him and swung at his quick enough guard, Mikee having to block all the attacks coming at him.

_Damn, this robot is different from the other one last night! It's much faster! _Mikee thought as his hand was deflected away and a sword barely slashed at his cheek before slamming the hedgehog down into the ground. Mikee took the impact hard as he swiftly rolled away from the incoming stab. Along the roll, Mikee flipped around and kicked the robot hard into the chest as Mikee got up and fired off another blast at the robot who simply took its sword and cut it straight in half.

Dawn was watching as Mikee still confronted the robot as she put up another shield around them as Apricot was shaking. The Persian was holding her head as she was letting out some dark energy, which was odd coming from her as Dawn looked at the Persian. "Apricot? What's wrong?" Dawn asked, coming closer to her. She pushed her away as her eyes were red and black cracks were appearing all over her. "D-Dawn, please…you have to knock me out, hurry!" She asked the hedgehog as Dawn looked shocked at her request. Mikee hit against the shield as he quickly deflected a sword lunge as he rammed and dragged the robot along the ground. "Listen, Dawn, you have to! I'm…absorbing negative energy! Please, before something bad happens!" Apricot begged her.

"Apricot, I…I can't knock you out, are you crazy?" Dawn told her. The Persian looked dead serious at this request as Dawn didn't have any other choice.

"A...all right…prepare yourself…" Dawn said, biting her lip as she opened up her palm and her hair shone to a bright white. Floating in the hedgehog's palm was a white sphere which was swirling with energy. Dawn closed her eyes as the shield she was in exploded with white light. Dawn let out a concussive blast which did knock out Apricot as the Persian was on the ground. Mikee saw this as he took another slash from the robot across his chest, his anger at this thing rising.

"Apricot!" Mikee called out loud as he jumped back, his quills glowing again as Mikee rushed at the robot at an even faster speed, the ground cracking in its wake as the robot swung its sword. It went right through Mikee as the hedgehog vanished, the robot swinging at a very convincing after image. Before the robot could react, the after image he swung at rematerialized as Mikee landed a shining fist right into the robot's face as Mikee followed up with a fast barrage of punches, not giving the machine a chance to counter at all. The Light Warrior finished it with a solid double kick hard enough to knock it right through a tree as it dropped the swords. This was Mikee's chance as he took a stance and held his palms in a firing position, aimed at the robot.

"Shine Beam!" Mikee yelled as he fired off a white burst of Light energy, it exploding and destroying the robot once more. The explosion took out the next few trees around the center of the explosion as Mikee stood there, his palms still sparking with energy as he was almost out of breath. Dawn took down the shields as Mikee ran over to them, Apricot still knocked out cold. As Mikee got closer, he started to feel something really…off. He had to shake it off as he looked to the nervous Dawn. "I…I don't…she asked me to do it…" Dawn told Mikee as he picked up Apricot.

Meanwhile, as Mikee and Dawn brought the unconscious girl into the Mansion, Scorch watched them go inside as he was shocked at the display of power Mikee showed to this robot. How much power was this guy really hiding? He didn't see Mikee use this kind of strength before or even this speed. _What the hell is up with this guy? How much power does this guy have?_ Scorch thought to himself as he flew down to the spot where the robot exploded. There was literally nothing left; only a charred crater and a few split trees remained. The former champion looked back to the Mansion again as his stare was intended to Mikee.

_How strong are you?_ He thought.


End file.
